A creamy homemade almond butter with a hint of sweet maple flavour. So easy and delicious that you’ll never want to buy store-bought again!
This past weekend, I tackled something that’s been on my kitchen to-make list for longer than I care to admit — I finally made a batch of homemade almond butter.
It’s no secret that I’m kind of obsessed with the stuff. Not only is it a major staple in my diet, but it’s also one of the most common ingredients that I use in my recipes. Would you believe, then, that despite the fact that I’ve been maintaining this love affair for years, I’ve never actually made my own? Nope. Not once.
I think a lot of that had to do with the fact that I’ve been perfectly happy with the oh-so-tasty-and-convenient jars that I’ve been able to find in stores… but with Justin not showing much love to us Canadians, and Maisie Jane’s continuing to go up and up in price, I would have had to start looking into selling my kidneys on the black market soon if I wanted to continue supporting my addiction… and even that would only be a temporary fix since I only have 2 and they’re not exactly renewable resources 😯
A smarter solution would be to buy a bunch of almonds and make my own butter — so that’s what I did…
Why did I not do this sooner?!? Oh yeah… because I was terrified. I’m not going to beat around the bush here — making almond butter is a loud and violent affair, with the first few seconds making you feel like you’re trying to process rocks. But after that? It’s pretty much smooth sailing.
And as an added bonus, you can calm your nerves by munching on a handful of delicious maple roasted almonds that you deliberately left out of the food processor because you couldn’t stop eating them and seriously considered pulling the plug on the entire operation and just calling it a day right there. Ahem.
One of the best parts about making things in your own kitchen (besides being able to lick the spoon) is being able to control what goes into them. No questionable ingredients. No added preservatives. Nothing but the good stuff… with the good stuff in this case being almonds, maple syrup, cinnamon, and a touch of sea salt. That’s it! And while it may not be as quick or convenient of a process as picking up a jar from your local grocery store, there’s something inherently satisfying about looking at a finished product and knowing that you made it yourself…
And if you’ve never made your own nut butter because you’ve been too intimidated to try (like I was), I can promise you that you have nothing to worry about — it really couldn’t be simpler!
You start by roasting your almonds…
Not only does doing so bring out a more complex and robust flavour, but adding warm almonds to your food processor makes them that much easier to process. Trust me. I skipped the roasting step in the first batch I made, and it probably took twice as long. It also didn’t taste nearly as good… so no cutting corners to try and save time!
Next comes the processing…
This part takes a little bit of time and patience, but there’s nothing complicated about it. You simply let your processor run for about 10 minutes (turning it off to scrape the sides as necessary), and watch as the almonds go from a grainy paste to a creamy butter. Easy peasy! And you don’t need a fancy processor either. The one I used was around 25 years old and it had no problem getting the job done.
After that, all that’s left is to grab a spoon and enjoy!
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Creamy Maple Roasted Almond Butter
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 2 cups 1x
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw almonds
- 6 Tbsp. maple syrup
- pinch of sea salt
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- optional: 1-2 tsp. coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Pour almonds onto baking sheet and drizzle them with maple syrup, using your fingers to ensure that they are evenly coated. Roast for 15 minutes, stirring at least once to prevent burning.
- Remove the pan from the oven and let the almonds cool for about 10 minutes. You want them to still be warm so that they’re easier to process, but not hot so that they don’t put an added strain on your processor.
- Pour the almonds into your food processor and pulse to begin breaking them down. Add 1 tsp. of oil if needed and let your processor run until the almonds begin to break down into a grainy paste, and eventually a smooth butter. Stop processing every couple of minutes to scrape down the sides of the bowl and give your processor a brief rest.
- When almonds become creamy, add salt and cinnamon, and continue processing until desired consistency is reached.
- Transfer the almond butter to an airtight container, and store in the fridge for up to 3 months.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
Looking for more almond butter recipes? Try one of these!
Flourless Chocolate Chip Almond Butter Muffins
Chunky Monkey Snack Bites
Almond Butter and Pretzel Truffles
This looks phenomenal. I have wanted to make some on my own one of these days, and you may have just inspired me to try. 🙂
That looks so good! I am living in Asia, where it’s over $20 for almond butter, and that’s if you can even find it. I have splurged and bought it several times! I actually tried to make my own before a couple of times, and it didn’t turn out like your pictures. I have a super powered food processor, but mine just never gets smooth. I actually think it’s the variety of almonds we get here- they must be lower in fat, because the oils never release to make it creamy like in your photo! I will have to try this the next time I am back in the States and see if I have better luck… beautiful photos! So tempting.
Oh my goodness this looks good – and thanks for providing some recipes to use it in! Great link at the Saturday Sharefest!
Love your site girl! You make some yummy things and it’s enjoyable to read.
…..this is… amazing. I’ve been wanting to make my own nut butter for, like, EVER, but I didn’t have a food processor to do it. But yesterday I bought a Vitamix(!!!!) and homemade nut butter is going to be the first thing I do!! But adding maple… girl, you just stole my HEART.
Eee! Enjoy your new Vita, girl! You’re going to love it! Those things are seriously amazing 😀
WOMAN! these pictures? Drool….. It looks amazing!
LOVE almond butter, especially when it’s homemade. The maple must be awesome with this.
this maple butter looks delicious! i definitely need to make the recipe, perfect to have on-top toast for breakfast!
Oh Yes! Homemade nut butter is simply the best! Just like you say, you can totally customize it the way you want it. Endless possibilities! However, I’ll say that I had never thought to add maple syrup! Brilliant! Pinned ;). can’t wait to make this soon and slather it on anything and everything!
Yep, I’ve felt the same way. It is such a violent affair! But wow, your post has me convinced it is worth it. I love almond butter – adding maple just took the relationship to a whole new level! 😉
This looks so incredible!
I’m a huge almond butter addict, but I’ve never had maple roasted! Must try!
{Teffy’s Perks} X
I have to admit, I’ve definitely been too intimidated to try making AB, but maybe this will give me the nudge to give it a try!
It’s really not anywhere near as bad as you think it is! And it’s kind of fun to watch it go from one stage to another 🙂
uh oh, watch our justin… spoons butter might have you beat!! plus it’s super cute wit the little spoon! hehe like YOU!
ABOUT BLOODY TIME.
Legit, Maisies and Justin’s are going to suffer a big dent in their revenue…all thanks to you. Making this. Roasting nuts (all sorts ;)) brings out the flavour x 100000.
Artisiana Almond Butter is the absolute WORST.
Is it creepy if I say I want to roll around naked in this nutty perfection? 😉
Nope! I’d probably be more concerned if you -didn’t- want to 😉
Ok that kinda looks good. Seriously. I could drink that whole jar.
can you send me like 500 jars of this stuff? kthanks.
I never made my own almond butter but I have made peanut butter and it tasted SO good! Almond butter is definitely next on my list but I’ve got to wait until I get a new food processor…I’m not sure my blender would do the trick. This looks delicious–I would probably get halfway through the recipe and stop. Those maple roasted almonds look so good!
I LOVE almond butter & this looks like a simple, yet amazing recipe! I’m thinking I’ll have to get my food processor out again to give this a try sometime (I’m often too lazy to do my own & hate cleaning up the mess after). 😉
You KNOW this is totally right up my alley!! 😉 I really need to start making my AB myself more often than buying it. It gets SO pricey!
I keep wanting to make my own nut butter too, although I think for my first go around, I’d have to try honey roasted peanut butter…sorry, I still love you lots though.
There’s a market here where I pick it up and it’s by far my favorite flavor.
Hello
I see you used your food processor to make the almond butter. I was wondering if a vitamix would work as my processor is not powerful.
Looks yum
Thanks
A high-speed blender like a Vitamix would definitely work! I just opted for a food processor because I find them easier to clean, but I know a lot of people use a Vitamix with absolutely no problems.
Yum! I tried making almond butter for the first time this weekend and couldn’t get it to go creamy and I left it for aaaaages. Any suggestions? I was trying to avoid having to add any oils…
Oh noes! Did you roast them? I find that really helps. If not, I’ve heard that soaking them overnight or for at least a few hours can have the same effect. Also, you don’t need to add a lot of oil at all. Even 1/2 tsp does the trick if your almonds are a bit on the dry side.
I have never had almond butter!!! CRAZY! I might just have to try it. Any time a recipe calls for it I always sub in good ole peanut butter because I ALWAYS have peanut butter.
Oh man, maple-flavoured anything just sign me up! I gotta say that it must be a Canadian thing, because all of my American friends are pretty apathetic when it comes to anything maple. This miiiight have something to do with the fact that they all think “maple syrup” is the same as Aunt Jemima syrup. Uh, no.
Homemade nut butter is the BEST though, and the batch that you made looks absolutely amazing. Love it!
Clearly we need to send them all some maple candy. That stuff is ah.maze.ing.
When I read the title of this post I telepathically congratulated you on conquering your fear – did you notice ;)? If not: congrats and it looks absolutely delightful. Me, a jar of that and a spoon would be a dangerous combination…
I’ve only ever made coconut butter before because it’s such a ‘smooth’ nut – at least once shredded – that I didn’t fear for the life of my Vitamix. Any other nut butters, though? I’m still scared.
My favourite store-bought variety is white almond butter and I’m not sure I’d be able to make that at home. I haven’t seen blanched almonds in supermarkets around here and if I blanch them myself there would either be water in the almond butter [= it’d turn rancid soon] or I’d have to roast the blanched almonds which would make it, well, roasted and not white almond butter. A dilemma.
This looks like absolute perfection in a jar. You have added the best flavours! I have made walnut butter, and peanut butter but not almond butter yet. I am also nervous as my food processor is not the strongest!!
Love your version and I really need to roast my almonds before making almond butter next time. Glad you finally gave it try!
This looks so good… I never thought about seasoning (is that the right word?) my almonds before roasting and making almond butter… I could never get mine creamy enough *cough I didn’t want to wait to roast almonds/process forever* but I think you’ve inspired me to try again. PS LOVE THOSE PHOTOS! The styling is gorg!
Thank ya, lady! I’m pretty happy with how they turned out. Sometimes it just works, ya know? And then sometimes it’s like pulling teeth 😡
I’ve only made my own nut butter once, and I was nervous! I had just got my Ninja and I was afraid of breaking it. It did turn out good though! I’m going to Michigan on Saturday for a few days, so naturally I will be stocking up on Justin’s. Justin’s Vanilla Almond Butter and Chocolate Hazelnut = best things ever.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this recipe! Because omigosh spending $13 on almond butter was getting ridiculous. I’ll be making this ASAP 🙂
I have made my own almond butter a few years ago and actually did something very similar to this recipe, but I am okay with buying the store bought kind, since I don’t have a high power blender for this. My favorite store bought brands are: Costco’s Crunchy Peanut Butter and of course NUTTZO!
I’ve made my own nut butter a few times but I think my food processor isn’t as strong as it should be! What brand do you use?
I tend to buy Trader Joes or Justins as my brand of choice.
This looks amazing and your pics are to dieeeee for!
Gah! It’s so old that I’m not even 100% sure. I -think- it’s a Cuisinart, though!
I thought about doing this but then I wondered if it is cheaper to buy it. I know around here its super hard to find almond butter with no added sugar.
If you can buy your almonds in bulk then it would probably be cheaper to make your own, but I guess that also depends on how much a jar of AB will run you in the store. The only brands I can buy (that are peanut-free) tend to be a little on the pricier side, so it’s definitely chapter for me to make my own.